The present invention relates to a fishing lure and, in particular, relates to a fishing lure having surface features selected so that the target fish will be optimally attracted to the lure.
A variety of designs for many different types of lures are available or have been available in the past. Perhaps the most basic lures, at least in terms of design concept, are those having surface patterns which generally duplicate a certain type of natural bait or small fish. Such lures are described, for example, in Honse U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,531, Reeves, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. D358,863 and Merolillo U.S. Pat. No. D367,101.
In one variety of lure design, the lure constitutes a blade often bent in the middle to form a convex side. Depending on the size and shape of the blade and its method of attachment to the other lure elements, the blade will flutter or rotate with a greater or lesser angle as it is drawn through the water. Silver, gold, black, dark brass, mother-of-pearl and plastic are some of the materials which have been used in the manufacture of such blades. Normally, the leading or convex side of the blade is painted with either a solid color or with stripes, patches or other regular markings while the lagging or concave side of the blade is left unpainted so as to "flash" in the manner of iridescent fish scales while being pulled through the water. A general discussion of the manufacture of such lures is described by author A. D. Livingston in Chapter 4 of his book entitled Luremaking: The Art and Science of Spinnerbaits, Buzzbaits, Jigs and Other Leadheads, Ragged Mountain Press, ME (1994).
As noted by Livingston, many anglers prefer that the lure include markings that represent the features of a bait fish, such as scales, a throat or, most commonly, eyes. These eyes usually are painted on, dabbed on with a flattened head or adhesively affixed using prefabricated stick-on eyes. One problem identified by Livingston is that of getting the eyes in the same spot on both sides of the head (supra pp. 2 and 100-101). In any event, commercial lures have been manufactured having eyes on both sides of the blade, as shown on page 294 of "Fishing Lure Collectibles" by Dudley Murphy and Rick Edmisten, Collector Books, KY (1997). Also, blades have been manufactured which have multiple eye markings as shown on page 382 of Old Fishing Lures and Tackle by Carl F. Luckey, Books Americana, AL (1996). Yet another and more elaborate type of eye design is shown in Pahle U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,782, which describes a multi-faceted outer eye surface for maximum light reflection.
In addition to dots, stripes or other patterns for suggesting the discrete features of a bait fish, other types of surface treatments have been used. These include hammering or imprinting pimples or scales into the blade metal or making fine laser beam cuts into the blade surface so as to provide a prismatic effect as described in Woodruff et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,996. One relatively unusual treatment, described in Pierceall U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,479, is covering the outer surface of the metal with resilient, white, silicon rubber in order to simulate the soft underbelly of a minnow or other bait fish. It appears that fluorescent colors have also been utilized in lure manufacture as indicated by Orlick et al. U.S. Pat. No. D286,317.
As the foregoing suggests, many approaches have been tried in order to design a fishing lure of maximum attraction to the target fish. A common element of several of these approaches is to emulate some feature of a natural bait. Notwithstanding the large number of different lure designs, however, all too frequently there is no response by the target fish to any of one's various lures or the target fish initially respond only to finally pull away moments before any strike occurs. Moreover, there is no definite procedure for selecting one lure over another beyond a hazy recollection of what has worked in the past for a particular type of fish.
Accordingly, a principal object of at least a preferred embodiment of the present invention is to provide a fishing lure having surface features of improved design for attracting fish.
A further object of at least a preferred embodiment of the present invention is to provide a clear procedure for selecting a specific fishing lure over various others available based on objective criteria.